Considering looking into powder coating

Maxjon

Member
This is how I PC my bullets, the method you or others use may be totally different and give you the results you like, and that what matters in the long run.


Tools:


Convention toaster oven for curing your bullets.


I prefer the convection oven because it heats more evenly. You can pick one up at a resale store on the cheap or just buy a new one for around $30 to $40 depending on what you like. ONLY use the oven for curing powder coated bullets or heat treating bullets from that point on, NEVER use it to cook food in afterwards. Get yourself an oven thermometer (WallyWorld for $7) to set your temperature dial as close as possible, most toaster ovens heat either cooler or hotter than the dial indicates. Set your oven to keep a constant temperature at around 400 degrees or whatever temper is specified by the powder coat mfg., if the temp runs +/- 25 degrees it want hurt anything but I prefer it to stay as close to 400 degrees as possible with the powders I use, you just don't want it to get too high or too cool.

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Plastic container for tumbling bullets in.

You will need a one or more #5 plastic containers and lids depending on if you want to do more than one color, screw on types are the best but snap on lid types like I use work fine to. I use these two types of #5 container I recycle from home along with multicolor plastic pony beads I get at WallyWorld for $1.50 per pack, they are large enough that they want get stuck inside my big 45 ACP HP's. The combination has worked well for me to generate lots of static electricity to attract the powder to the bullets. One thing of note is that LOW HUMIDITY is your friend as it will make generating static electricity easy, I like it to be 40% or lower. At times, I've had to coat in the house and take them out to my reloading shed to cure.

#5 container from local restaurants.

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Great Value Yogurt container.

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Pony beads mainly but black airsoft BB's work just as well, I use both, but others may not find them necessary to achieve their desired results.

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In the small container I place enough beads to fill the bottom about 1" deep, in the larger container I add enough to fill it between 1" and 2" but no more than that. I add about 1/2 TSP of powder to the container with the beads and shake it up for about 30 sec. notice how it already starts to stick to the beads and sides of the container. I always start out with 1 TSP if you need to add more powder to get the desired coat only add another 1/2 TSP to the mix as too much powders will clump on the bullets and you will have to tap it off before placing them on the baking tray. It's easy to add a little more powder to get a fine coating than having too much to start with. Some use no beads at all and get excellent results as well, I just like using the beads as they seem to help generate extra static and create a buffer between the bullets.

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Next I add the bullets. Make sure they are clean of any dirt, oil or lube or any contaminates that might be on your hands as the powder will not stick. I like to wash mine in 100% Acetone if in question, and wear nitrile groves when handling bullets I plan on coating while putting them in the container. I generally add around 50 to 100 bullets to the container depending on caliber and weight, close the lid and shake in all directions for around 30 seconds. I used black air soft BB's that I had with the clear powder coat and they work great with clear, not so much with some other colors I've used, but the pony beads will work with all colors.

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After about 30 seconds of shaking, I tap the lid to knock any powder off the inside and look at my bullets to see how they are coated. If they pass my inspection, they should look like this or the ones in the white clear coat above.

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Next I take my baking sheet and line it with a piece of Reynolds Parchment Paper, there are cheaper brands of that type of paper but I think the Reynolds works best and I get around 3 uses out of a sheet before I toss it, other like silicone baking mats, trays etc., but powder residue tends to build up over time on those so I just use the paper. I take a pair of long tweezers and place all my bullets base first onto the paper, it takes some time to do it this way, but I can easily have the next tray of bullets ready to cure by the time the first batch is done. Many just dump the bullets into a screens tray, shake off the excess powder dump them and bake, but I like the results I get standing them up individually and the powder flow and migrates evenly with no lumps or flat spots. Then I pop them in a 400 degree preheated oven and set the timer for (20 min. after the powder starts to gloss over.)

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Powders I like to use.


Super Durable Clear or Carolina or Signal Blue are all excellent powders to coat with. Smoke will sell you a pound of powder divided into 3 1/3rd lb. bags of his colors if you like, but these are the colors I like and that have worked for me the best with no fuss.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?241259-Hi-quality-Powder-for-DT-or-Spraying-bullets

Eastwood powders I like.





A few notes on cast bullet air cooled or quenched from the mold and how the curing process will anneal the cast lead bullets using an alloy that responds to water quenching or heat treating.

1. If you air cool your bullets when cast then PC them and allow them to air cool again the second time, there is no change in the as cast BHN of the bullet.


2. If you air cool your bullets when cast then PC them and quench them right out of the toaster oven, they will gain a hardness of about 75% over the as cast BHN.


3. If you quench your bullets out of the mold to begin with then PC them and allow them to air cool, they will soften around 50% from the original first quenching BHN.


4. If you quench your bullets out of the mold to begin with then PC them and quench them right out of the toaster oven a second time, you only loose around 15% hardness from the first quenching.
That's very informative, thankyou! My current batch of alloy is at 22 BHN. I am already set up to Hitek coat, but I'm not 100% happy with it, but you dont have to stand the bullets up prior to cooking, seems to be the only benefit, from PC.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
I stand all of mine up on a grid... LOL.
seriously I do stand all of mine up, but I coat and cook differently than everyone else and I get a thinner coat than they do too.
I'm just typing this to point out there's about 20 different ways to get a good coat on them.
 

johnc

Member
i gave up powder coating a few years ago as i couldn't get an even coating on em. is there any color available besides rainbow? i live closish to austin now and don't want the foo-foos showing up at the range when i shoot.
 

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
How'd the round balls shoot, CW? I've been using BLL on .454 RBs in my 1860 cartridge cylinder. Are those 28-gauge hulls?
I have t found any difference in accuracy. I do for two "reasons" I like the color for load ID and it at least partially reduces possibility of leading.
In BP ya obviously still need to lube. But in my pistol and shotgun loads its been clean.

Outstanding writeup 7.62! Mirrors much of my process and thoughts. Most all of us who have been at this a while (knowing its pretty new process) learned together.
CW
 
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popper

Well-Known Member
The weight of any 'uneven' coating doesn't cause a problem, 165gr GC PC from ar10 does moa @ 200 (sitting in a sunflower field). Smokes red PC. Different thickness on the nose effects seating depth, and as I found out, with my bullet ogive, a thous. dia change equals many thous change in seting depth to prevent jamming the nose into the lands. Simple trig calc. will verify that. The rig I made works like a case gauge, on the ogive instead of the shoulder. i also use a NOE sizer insert to verify proper loaded neck dia as one chamber is rather tight and I use BO converted brass.
 

Ian

Notorious member
CW, I shoot smokeless in the cartridge cylinder. The BLL works great on the soft round balls and provides a little smoke for effect, I just wondered how well the PC would work. May have to try it, but the BLL works so well I'd really have to have a compelling reason to switch.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
heck John you got the rainbow to choose from...LOL
a lot of guy's just use clear, I use a silver grey mostly and like to mix in some Red to make the wad cutters look like little Dr. Pepper cans.
 

Ian

Notorious member
i gave up powder coating a few years ago as i couldn't get an even coating on em. is there any color available besides rainbow? i live closish to austin now and don't want the foo-foos showing up at the range when i shoot.

How closish?
 

johnc

Member
heck John you got the rainbow to choose from...LOL
a lot of guy's just use clear, I use a silver grey mostly and like to mix in some Red to make the wad cutters look like little Dr. Pepper cans.
fer shame....fer shame....fer shame